The Accelerating Push to “Tell Hong Kong’s Story Well”
This month, three Hong Kong commercial broadcasters — HK Television Entertainment Company (香港電視娛樂有限公司), i-CABLE HOY (有線寬頻開電視有限公司), and Television Broadcasts Limited (電視廣播有限公司) — received renewed 12-year licenses set to begin in 2027 and 2028. In the license terms was a new requirement: all three must now produce at least one hour of English programming that “tells Hong Kong’s story well” (說好香港故事), every single week.
That phrase adapts “telling China’s story well” (講好中國故事), China’s foreign propaganda principle that upholds positive international communication as a means of achieving international legitimacy and its foreign policy goals. In Hong Kong, the phrase appeared with increasing frequency in official policy documents since Chief Executive John Lee’s 2022 annual policy address, after China’s National Security Law brought crackdowns on Hong Kong activists, pro-democracy politicians, and the media that continue today.
“Telling Hong Kong’s story well” is being treated with increasing importance as the city government aims to prove its continued economic success in the wake of sweeping political changes and a post-COVID-19 economy. The hope is that telling positive stories about its achievements and countering what the government calls “malicious attacks, smears, and slanders” by “external forces” will continue to attract business, tourism, and students to the city.
[https://youtu.be/B6O52424pmw?si=w5IcQ4BU3sB-vPwa]
Most recently, a call to “tell good China stories, and Hong Kong stories” appeared in the city’s first five-year plan, which was released in September. Initiatives like a themed writing competition for students as young as 12 years old — which invites students to tell stories of their corner of the city, organized by the educational arm of the Hong Kong Economic Journal (信報) and funded by the city government’s Language Fund — exemplify the all-hands-on-deck approach to improving Hong Kong’s image.
This is the first time Hong Kong’s major broadcasters have renewed their licenses since the implementation of the National Security Law and the subsequent Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, passed in 2024. The government has used the laws to put pressure on the press, leading to the closure of pro-democracy media outlets like Apple Daily. Most recently, Tang Ho-wing (鄧浩榮), founder of the independent outlet Boom News (爆炸頭), was detained (and has since been released on bail) on suspicion of sedition under the ordinance, and his bank accounts were allegedly frozen.
